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05/09/2006 03:19:44 AM · #1 |
So I just finished my first big photo project.
I learned a LOT, and my speed of processing pictures improved a LOT during the process.
But I found that as I got more used to things and as I got faster with the basics, I found more ways to make the pictures look better. I 'broadened' out my PP style...
This made it take longer for each picture.
Questions like "How is the composition here?" "How does the eye flow through the pic?" "Is it Oversharpened/oversaturated?" "Are you sure?" asked at the end of the process helped me to get a lot more consistent and generally better results.
This was pretty cool, but I can't help but wonder how long pro's take...
My total number of shots were 515 for the project, half of which got a very light touch or nothing at all. Half of which ended up in the recycle bin (a folder made to archive originals) mostly due to bad focus. My outbox of finished and polished pictures contains 64 images. Most are pretty good. Probably 10 of them are really scraping the edges of 'good' due to lens focus issues (the lens used for the pictures has since been warrantied and swapped). Probably 15 of them got a 'special treatment' with more advanced editing and a little bit of cloning.
I found that MUCH less time was required when the camera got it right for focus and light. I shot in JPG because I'm not ready for RAW quite yet (nor is my hard drive with only 5GB free as I write this). The lighting was probably more of my issue with handling the camera as this was also my first day shooting the 30D (or any DSLR for that matter) outside of a few tests.
I am going to guess that it took me around 8-10 hours to complete the PP.
A good picture, if I only needed to prep it with some basic contrast/curves, correct color cast and hit it with minor sharpening took me about 3 minutes from open to close.
A good picture with the basics mentioned above plus composition correction (cropping and rotation) generally took 5-12 minutes.
A bad picture that otherwise looked worthy could take 10-20 minutes.
Yeah, I know that sucks, and it's a long time, but it's my first time.
What should I be shooting for though?
How long would it take you? |
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05/09/2006 03:59:10 AM · #2 |
How long does it take to PP
Step 1 Enter bathroom
Step 2 Lock Door
Step 3 Lift Seat
Step 4 Aim
Step 5 Fire
Step 6 Complete Firing Action
Step 7 Flush
Step 8 Wash Hands
Step 9 Reverse steps 1 and 2
Step 10 Go back and put Seat down, before I get told off...
PS I have jumped the steps for adjusting clothing to suit situation...
Time Taken aprox 2 mins..
In a serious note
anything from 5 to 50 mins
some images just require a bit of contrast and sharpening, others considerably more finessing.
Message edited by author 2006-05-09 03:59:48. |
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05/09/2006 05:34:32 AM · #3 |
I guess I spend about on average 10-30 minutes on each image I send in here. That´s average though, can higly depend on the shot. Some don´t need anything more than a contrast boost and sharpening and some a LOT more.
This one for example, took me about 30 seconds to post process.
This one however, I think I spent about 2 hours on in post processing, darkened the frame and brightened the waterfall.
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05/09/2006 11:26:23 AM · #4 |
Interesting. It's certainly a labour of love when we prepare pictures for voting.
What about you pro doods when shooting for work? |
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05/09/2006 11:34:27 AM · #5 |
Originally posted by Artan:
How long does it take to PP
Step 1 Enter bathroom
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We're pretty pathetic. I thought the same thing when I read the title. ;)
For dpc, I don't do too much. Outside of dpc, anywhere from 5 minutes to 2 hours. I sometimes do several different versions.
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05/09/2006 11:38:33 AM · #6 |
Originally posted by eschelar:
What about you pro doods when shooting for work? |
It really depends on the shoot and who I'm shooting. Considerable time can be spent "healing" skin on my portrait and boudior work.
I shoot RAW exclusively, so PP is actually lightened for me. It takes a lot less time to adjust a RAW file than it does to "fix" a jpeg. Also, I have a few presets saved for curves and levels, so generally, minus healing" it takes about 3-5 minutes per shot to PP.
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05/09/2006 11:43:00 AM · #7 |
It really depends on the shot and the end result I'm trying to achieve. It might be 5 minutes. It might be 4 hours. On average though, for challenge shots, I'd say I probably spend 30-60 minutes. The most time I've probably ever spent PPing on an image (teehee) was probably about 2 days [and that was for Operation Photo Rescue]. ;-)
Message edited by author 2006-05-09 11:43:54. |
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05/09/2006 11:45:44 AM · #8 |
For large shoots (several hundred shots) I usually take a quick look at all to see if there is something that needs to be corrected universally -- if so I create or use an action to fix that. Then sort into 'Needs PS' and 'Doesn't Need PS'. Most will fall in the doesn't folder. Of the shots I do edit much, I might spend anywhere from 5 minutes to 1/2 hour on each depending on what effect I am going for. Total editing time for say 500 shots would probably be around 3 or 4 hours. BUT...... triple that if the event is a wedding, model portfolio or boudior shoot.
Edit to mention: I'm no doooood! :P
Message edited by author 2006-05-09 11:47:32.
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05/09/2006 11:50:55 AM · #9 |
Originally posted by Larus:
This one for example, took me about 30 seconds to post process.
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I believe Larus's blue ribbon near out-of-camera shot is the exception and not the rule.
Most top finishers here get more than just casual post processing attention. Also, the amount of time spent in post depends on the skill of the photographer. Skilled photographers accomplish much more faster than post processing newbies. Larus is skilled.
Post processing can make a decent image good, can make a good image great and can make a great image fantastic. All images benefit from image post processing. It is an essential skill in modern photography.
If you find yourself using post processing to try to "save" an image then you will accomplish little more than wasting a lot of time. You can bet the farm that Larus does not do that.
Message edited by author 2006-05-09 11:53:01.
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05/09/2006 12:02:39 PM · #10 |
Originally posted by idnic:
Edit to mention: I'm no doooood! :P |
Not only is she NOT a doooood...she kicks doood butt :))
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05/09/2006 12:05:36 PM · #11 |
Originally posted by Rae-Ann:
Originally posted by idnic:
Edit to mention: I'm no doooood! :P |
Not only is she NOT a doooood...she kicks doood butt :)) |
She's cute too ;-)
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05/09/2006 12:08:46 PM · #12 |
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05/09/2006 12:30:36 PM · #13 |
Originally posted by stdavidson:
I believe Larus's blue ribbon near out-of-camera shot is the exception and not the rule.
Most top finishers here get more than just casual post processing attention. Also, the amount of time spent in post depends on the skill of the photographer. Skilled photographers accomplish much more faster than post processing newbies. Larus is skilled.
Post processing can make a decent image good, can make a good image great and can make a great image fantastic. All images benefit from image post processing. It is an essential skill in modern photography.
If you find yourself using post processing to try to "save" an image then you will accomplish little more than wasting a lot of time. You can bet the farm that Larus does not do that. |
Whoha! Easy on the compliments, my head will get so big it´ll explode :D Thanx dude, warmed the cockles of my heart, hehe. "skilled" woho!
Not trying to toot my own horn here but yep, that´s pretty much the case, I try to get the shot as well as I can straight out of the camera, mostly because I am lazy. I don´t know when it happened but now I take shots with a specific processing in mind so basically, have post processed them in my head before I even click the shutter of the camera.
Sometimes that doesn´t work though and it doesn´t come out as I planned it, a good example is my window framed entry wich I still am baffled did so well, I didn´t like how it came out and pretty much tried to "save" it in photoshop :) Proves that you just CAN´T go wrong with a waterfall picture, lucky for me :D
Edit: To answer the OP, all I was trying to say with my earlier post is that there is NO rule on how much time I spend on images. I have taken photos in receptions and such where I just put them through raw conversion and that´s it so it means, what... 10 seconds or even less per image in post processing and then I have spent hours on a single image if it was going on a poster or something similar. Just depends on the occasion really. Only rule is I spend as little time as possible in post processing, partly cause I am lazy and partly because I try to get the image as good as I can from the get go cause that will lead to the best quality.
Message edited by author 2006-05-09 13:02:31. |
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05/09/2006 12:40:48 PM · #14 |
This image took me just under 3 hours....and I think I achieved total transformation????
Before
After
...but usually I spend, on average 30-40 minutes with Challenge entries.
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05/09/2006 12:59:54 PM · #15 |
request DQ button>
MAJOR ELEMENTS!!!
:)
Thanks for the contributions guys! Nice to know that I'm at least running in the right ballpark.
Now I need to work on quality, not just quantity!
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